Sunday, March 14, 2010

VIVA LAS VEGAS-PHX-TUCSON KNOWS HOW!!!!

We left Vegas in good spirits. The weather was far warmer than what we had been experiencing up north.The show at the Double Down was awesome, and the turnout seemed to be unaffected by the hoopla surrounding the Neon Reverb Festival. We met quite a few new friends, and had family attending as well.

We blasted off around noon heading out with Phoenix as our next destination. The new bridge near the Hoover Dam was being constructed, and security was tight. It must have been the limo tint on the van windows that got us pulled aside at the checkpoint. We were asked a few brief questions, and after swinging open the van door exposing the gear, we were sent on our way.

It wasn't long after that, that we were passed by two suspicious cars.

They were driving in a quirky jerky fashion, and all business. We joked that they were on the way to investigate a craft in the area.

We pulled up to a gift shop/store along the way to relive ourselves and stretch. The entire place was covered in signatures via sharpie. We found traces of BSU, and Idaho mixed within the writing on the wall.

When talking to the owner of the store, he encouraged us to leave our mark. It was apparent that the Fiesta Bowl folks had blown through the area.

We started seeing the classic cactus shortly thereafter. The sun was setting golden, and we took the time to pull over for a rock hunt/photo opp.

We rolled into Phoenix just in time to load in and crank out a blistering 45minute set. Tyler provided great hospitality, and the sound was great. We were broadcast live on local radio, and received a warm welcome from the locals.

We have been making the most out of our hotel stays in our travels.

Tour Tip #369 - When you play a show, and your drive to the next town is only 2-3 hours, think about driving it, and checking into a motel at 6 a.m. (They may call it one day rather than 2)

We decided to leave Phoenix and head to Tucson and get a Motel 6. We were only charged the $50 for 2 double beds, and rolled in at 5 a.m. The desk clerk was kind enough to send us to the Waffle House to kill an hour until we could check in. They had great food, and an awesome jukebox. We got 6 plays for a buck which included "White Sport Coat, El Paso, Blue Bayou, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, Donna, and the Gambler.

We got a good nights rest, and woke to a dog show. Upon walking out our hotel room door in the morning there were pens with Border Collies to the left, and Weenie Dawgs to the right. One of the owners explained that there was a dog show going on all weekend long. She had her grooming tables set up and was givin em the business. We thought about asking her for a quick trim.

We did some home cookin, and had a nice relaxing afternoon poolside. Temp was in the upper 70's.

We ventured into town and checked out an awesome music store. They had a 71 Gibson SG, and a Late 70's Fender Bass that we were drooling over.

We went on to Gooch's (the venue we were playing at) in preparation for the show. They gave us the full treatment. Anything we wanted to eat, and drinks on the house. With SXSW happening, all of the other places are booked up fast, and we were fortunate to land a night with Gooch. There were 4 bands on the bill, and the crowd was awesome. We felt we represented Boise well. We played all of our heavier songs from our album "chordata". It was 8 songs back to back, and the response was awesome. We have a date open on the 23rd where we are heading back through Tucson to San Diego. They asked us back, and are dismissing their regularly scheduled Karaoke contest for the ReVoLt.

We are headed to Las Cruces tomorrow around noon. The drives have been beautiful, and we are excited to move forward to the next show. Our next show is a pre SXSW fest that will have 6 or so bands on the bill. Some of which include friends of ours: The Slants (PDX), Hermit Thrushes (New Jersey). Hope all is well in Boise! Best ChrisRR